Description: Numerous laws are being directed toward subduing the visible presence of Islam throughout France, and in return French Muslims are becoming bolder in the projection of their faith. This thesis examines the presence of Islam in France throughout history and in contemporary French civilization. Specifically, this thesis addresses the issues regarding the visible presence of Islam in France through such institutions as mosques and how they are the key symbols representing the prominence of Islam in France. It looks at what lies in the collective French mind that creates such an influence on today's policies and outlook, as well as identifies the key characters that dominate the current affairs surrounding Islam in France. The thesis reviews the country's past relations with the visible presence of Islam through the controversies surrounding the construction of famous mosques. In addition, this thesis underlines key areas where both the State and the Muslim population must make concessions in order to avoid further conflict.

Description: Spain underwent drastic social and political changes in the last decades of the twentieth century which also affected the nation’s patterns of emigration. Contemporary Spanish literature and film that portray these decades reflect the country’s fluctuating characteristics of migration. ¡Vente a Alemania, Pepe! (1971) by Pedro Lazaga, Coto vedado (1985) by Juan Goytisolo, El hijo del acordeonista (2003) by Bernardo Atxaga, and Yoyes (2000) by Helena Taberna demonstrate Spain’s migration trends during the last years of Franco’s dictatorship and the transition to democracy. The nation’s highly increased socioeconomic development in the 1970s and 1980s which eventually led to a first-world status also affected emigration, which can be seen in Carlota Fainberg (1999) by Antonio Muñoz Molina, Kasbah (2000) by Mariano Barroso, Restos de carmine (1999) by Juan Madrid, and Map of the Sounds of Tokyo (2009) by Isabel Coixet.

Description: Alejandro Casona is a major playwright in the Spanish language today. He is known chiefly for his fantasy and humor. The intent of this paper is to show that his humor is a device for obtaining the attention of those whom he would teach.

Description: Pereda's literary fecundity and his literary achievement attain their peak in his novels; through these novels he attempts to present a clear portrayal of the social aspects of provincial Spain.

Description: This study proposes to establish an intrinsic relationship between Valle-Inclán and Muñiz based on the theme of dehumanization in their theater. It examines (1) the stylistic techniques which each playwright uses to depersonalize his characters, (2) the manner in which these characters dehumanize each other, (3) the role of society as the agent of dehumanization, and finally, due to each author's preoccupation with one social convention in particular (4) the devastating effects on men of the vestiges of an outmoded code of honor. The principal works used for the study are Valle-Inclán's Martes de carnaval, Luces de Bohemia, and Divinas palabras, and El tintero, Un solo de saxofón, Las viejas difíciles, and El grillo by Carlos Muñiz. Such an analysis proposes to reveal a profound literary affinity between these two writers, a bond which unites Valle-Inclán and Muñiz in a common protest against the dehumanization of mankind.

Description: Although some of Zunzunegui's works are not so moralistic in intent as others, it will be seen that each one of them criticizes a particular bad trait in the protagonist which leads to unhappiness or defeat, either for the character himself or for someone close to him.

Description: The purpose of this thesis is to show that an indigenous, emotional, and poetic lyricism is found in the novels of Jose Maria Arguedas, which distinguishes and separates Arguedas from the Hispanic indigenous classical writers.

Description: This thesis is an experiment in adapting a Florencio Sánchez play for staging in English. La Gringa was chosen because it is the best known of Sánchez' works, and because, to this writer's knowledge, no translation of this play is available.

Description: This thesis has as its purpose to make a study of the satirical vein that is revealed in the novels of Ramón Pérez de Ayala. It will be the goal to discover in these works the human habits and weaknesses that receive the censure of the author and to determine the means by which the novelist expresses his disapproval.

Description: This thesis analyzes and demonstrates the similarities and differences between some of the national symbols of France and the United States. This includes the shared and borrowed aspects of each one and the ways in which each culture is reflected through, and built around them. The flags, national anthems, and several national icons such as France's Marianne and Uncle Sam are discussed. This analysis deals with the historical contexts and cultural meanings of the symbols, showing the changes each has undertaken in form and in national and international importance. Through the study of national symbols, this thesis reveals the similarities along with the differences between the two nations, which are often perceived as being highly dissimilar and even opposing in belief systems, cultures, and histories.

Description: The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of analyzing and evaluating selected dramas and novelas of Juan Perez de Montalban. This study concludes that Montalban was not a writer of original works, but his familiarity with and utilization of certain literary devices, stereotyped situations, cliches, and popular themes, along with his notable talent in portraying women and rulers allowed him to produce works which met with great acclaim in his lifetime.

Description: In this study my aim has been to trace the development of the art in dialogue of Juan Ruis de Alarcón y Mendoza. In a survey of the Alarconian theatre I have attempted to attain an insight into the technique of his dramatic speech and to indicate the sources of potent influence exerted on the dramaturgic skill of this author.

Description: Until the time of Lope de Vega and the Golden Age of Spanish literature, women had always had secondary roles in the Spanish drama. There were two reasons for this: 1) Women were not fully appreciated in the society of the times. 2) Women were prohibited from appearing on the stage for many years, and boys usually took their parts. With the advent of Lope de Vega and his arte nuevo de hacer comedies, the situation was changed. The great genius, Lope de Vega, set the pattern for the drama of the Golden Age.

Description: This thesis presents a brief background of poetry in Mexico in the nineteenth century, along with a biography of Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera and a study of his three poetic periods: 1876-1886, 1886-1890, 1890-1895.

Description: The purpose of this study is to ascertain the major aspects of the theoretical structure of Sartrian existentialism and to examine the portrayal of these in Sartre's fiction. The theoretical investigation is based largely on Sartre's "L'Être et le néant" and "L'Existentialisme est u humanisme." The fictional works are "La Nausée," the trilogy "Les Chemins de la liberté," and "Le Mur." The study is prefaced by an examination of the term existentialism and a brief historical comparison of essentialist and existentialist philosophy. The aspects of Sartrian existentialism discussed are: the question of the existence of God and its importance to Sartre's philosophy; the premise of existence preceding essence; the fact of contingency on absurdity and its attendant nausea; the doctrines of freedom and responsibility; the dilemma of choice, anguish, and commitment; and the themes of authenticity, transcendence, and death.

Description: The Italian composer of operas, Giuseppe Verdi, relied heavily on plays of the Romantic Era as sources for opera librettos. Three such plays were from the Spanish Romantic School: El trovador and Simon Bocanegra by Antonio Garcia Gutierrez, and Don Alvaro o la fuerza del sino by Angel de Saavedra, el Duque de Rivas. The operas which Verdi composed using these plays as sources--Il trovatore, Simon Boccanegra, and La forza del destino--range in popularity from near zenith (Il trovatore) to near nadir (Simon Boccanegra). The study attempts to assess the suitability of the three Spanish dramas as source material for operas, and to determine if this suitability is correlated to each opera's popularity.